S-Class Dungeon’s Mistress - Chapter 3

The sight of Penelope rejoicing over her friend’s good fortune bothered Adelaide’s guilty conscience.

‘If you find out that I inherited it, you’ll kill me…’

Adelaide couldn’t stop her because it was so obvious how it would turn out if she knew she had inherited it.

Penelope will definitely hit Adelaide’s back, nag at her for about five hours, and then go to Jamie, the lawyer, and argue, “I can’t stay still.”

And when she realizes that there’s no way around it, she would probably give in to her. She’ll feel sorry for her and think ‘Adela will cry for days, how could she be so unhappy? In the end, it is more convenient to not leave Adelaide alone and try to bear the misfortune together.’

And Adelaide didn’t want that.

“When you’re done eating, let’s go to the warp stop. I will take you there.”

“Oh! Thank you Pippa, you’re the best!”

So Adelaide just smiled brightly and went with Penelope.

With Penelope accompanying her, things got a lot easier. While on the way to the warp stop, no low-level demons came near them. It was because they knew of Penelope’s power and that she belonged to Morpheus.

Morpheus was the most famous of the succubus associations. It was large and influential thanks to the alliance with the Incubus Association.

In particular, the name of Maximilian, the leader of the Morpheus Association, was so famous that there were no demons in Belial who didn’t know him. Rumors plagued the Demon Realm that if anyone touches a succubus belonging to Morpheus, he will go find the culprit himself. There weren’t many beings who dared to deal with him, a high-level demon.

Knowing this, the demons can only smack their lips as no one dared to approach them.

‘I’ll go out from time to time and show you my face. No, I’ll pretend I didn’t get kicked out of the Association!’

Adelaide thought regretfully.

Thanks to Penelope’s escort, they got to the stop quickly. Just before parting, Penelope handed Adelaide a small purse.

“Go on, take it. It’s money.”

“Money? But why?”

“What are you going to do when you’re as clueless as a child? How are you going to get to the dungeon when you arrive? Do you know how dangerous it is for a succubus, who has no money, no power, no association, to go out of town? And it’s in Kronatan, famous for its barrenness! Sarman may not be too dangerous, but… But you know, the people from the countryside are worse. I’m really worried.”

One question from her and the nagging came back like a bomb. But Adelaide shed tears knowing that all the words stem from her friend’s concern.

“Pippa…Thank you”

“Why are you crying again? If you become a successful dungeon master later, give me a job there. Be prepared, I will ask for a very high salary.”

“I’ll definitely do it, I’ll give you the best benefits! You’ll only need to work one day a week and I’ll guarantee the best accommodation!”

Penelope laughed, asking, “Where is such a ridiculous dungeon?”.

She thought it was a joke, but Adelaide wasn’t kidding. Her goal was to properly repay her friend, who took good care of her.

A very high salary, the best benefits, great accommodation and meals, Adelaide repeated the three conditions as if memorizing a spell.

It was going to come true someday, but neither Adelaide nor Penelope knew yet.

The Western part of the Demon Realm, Kronatan. It’s the farthest place from the human realm, magic was very strong there, and the battle to occupy the highest seat was fierce due to the vacancy of a ruler. It was truly a ‘Demon Realm in Demon Realm’, it was an area that a demon who lives to fight would really like to visit.

However, Adelaide’s reaction to the warp was not very positive.

“Huuu!”

She hadn’t even walked that far and she had already started vomiting in pain.

She was so upset that tears welled up in her eyes. It felt like her insides were convulsing.

It was her first time in a while making such a long-distance trip, having only stayed in Belial in recent decades. Because of that, the dizziness caused by the warp was particularly severe.

Adelaide leaned against the wall, staggered and swallowed her vomit. Fortunately, the nausea subsided within a few minutes. Only then did she come to her senses and get off the stop.

“Oh.”

Adelaide, who came out and saw the streets of Kronatan, gave a short exclamation.

It wasn’t about the beautiful nature or the unusual scenery. The building style was different from Belial’s, but she wasn’t very interested in it. It was not beautiful enough to be admired.

Adelaide was surprised because the streets were very quiet. It was different from the usual scenery in Belial. Here, there were no low-level demons lying on the streets, grunting, and there were no middle-class demons going to work with a bored face.

‘I thought, since it’s Kronatan, I’ll see a fight as soon as I arrive.’

It seems that it depends where in Kronatan. Sarman only looked peaceful, located in the southernmost part of Kronatan.

‘No, I didn’t see demons in the first place.’

She was the only demon that came out from the main tower.

To put it simply, the Sarman region is a rural area. It was a strong region where hardly any demons live. Adelaide was silent for a moment as she felt the humid wind gently brushing her face.

“How do you grow a dungeon in such an underdeveloped place?”

“Huh,” she said with a smirk.

She seemed to see her future burning in hellfire for the next 100 years.

She shook her head aggressively to get rid of the thoughts. Her strength is that she doesn’t get caught up in worrying about an uncertain future. Her downside was that she also didn’t worry about certain futures either.

Anyway, after checking the map once, Adelaide took a step forward. She had to move diligently to get there before the sun went down.

“Ladybug! Here!”

Adelaide, who stopped by the side of the road, waved hard.

Then a demon found and approached her. It was a monster called ladybug because of its red, round back with black dots punctured on it, resembling a ladybug in the human world.

However, the difference from a real ladybug was that it was larger than most demons. If it wasn’t a particularly large demon, two people could easily climb on its back. It was also used as a means of transportation in the Demon Realm because of its high speed.

“Go to the Darfur Forest!”

The ladybug waved his wings to signify it understood. Adelaide jumped lightly and the ladybug sat up. Her seating comfort wasn’t too bad. It did smell a little bit, but…

Soon, the ladybug flew into the sky. Adelaide retracted her comment that her seating wasn’t bad. The ladybug’s speed was too fast, as if it had forgotten that a guest was on its back.

“Your driving is too rough!”

She called from the ladybug’s back.

‘I got an impatient one.’

Adelaide thought, hiding her face on the strong-smelling back of the ladybug to avoid the strong wind.

After closing her eyes for so long, the ladybug finally landed. Thanks to its speed, the arrival time was reduced considerably.

“Ugh, that’s cheating.”

Adelaide got off the ladybug’s back and patted her chest. Her nausea, which barely subsided, was triggered again by the rough driving.

She couldn’t stand for a moment but the ladybug rushed her for the fare. The unusual waving of its antennae seemed to be threatening to eat her if she didn’t pay immediately.

In fact, ladybugs try to catch some of the low-level demons who didn’t pay their fees properly. After overpowering them with their large size, they would eat them from head to toe.

“Here it is, man, what a temper, I’ll give it to you if you just stay still.”

Adelaide hurriedly opened her purse and took out a coin. She pretended to be calm, but she was frightened. Perhaps because it was a countryside ladybug and it was much taller than the people in Belial.

After checking the coin, the ladybug shook it’s antenna more aggressively.

“More, you’re asking for more? What a rip off!”

“Okay, I’ll give it to you! Don’t raise your front foot!”

Adelaide backed away and took out more coins.

It was not until she took out three more coins that the ladybug lowered its front foot. She could not read its expression, but Adelaide instinctively felt that the demon was laughing at her.

But of course, she said nothing. Rather, she only greeted the leaping ladybug with a smile, saying goodbye. It was the way she lived her life as a weak person.

“I did hear that the people in the countryside are more brutal…”

‘As expected, what Pippa said wasn’t wrong.’ Adelaide sighed and turned around.

‘What happened in the past is only in the past. As soon as I arrived, the ladybug took my money, but it happens as you go through life. Now it’s time to forget all the resentment and sorrow of the past and head to my sweet home.’

Adelaide took another step forward with a determined expression.

Sadly, however, it took two more hours before she arrived at the dungeon.

Sweat ran down the back of her slender neck. Penelope’s splendid robe, which Penelope had bought telling her not to ignore, had long since been soaked wet. In her mind, she wanted to take off the black dress she was wearing.

Adelaide took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. Her throat felt hot and was burning. Her vision was spinning. She wandered through the forest for a whopping two hours with her almost non-existent stamina. She was exhausted.

Fortunately, she succeeded.

‘My sweet home…!’

She finally found the entrance to the dungeon.

It was so well hidden that she couldn’t find it no matter how hard she looked at the directions in the documents. Of course, Adelaide’s lack of sense of direction also played a part.

But even if it wasn’t her, others wouldn’t have found it so easily either. It was a hard-to-find location and even the entrance was secretly hidden between rocks and bushes.

Adelaide activated the portal with a grin on her face that was stained with sweat and dust.

‘I have little expectation of how my grandfather, who had never seen me before, would have decorated this dungeon.’

Whoong

The light burst out with a loud sound unique to the old portal. Adelaide closed her eyes to prevent dizziness and surrendered herself to the light.

Then the place changed.

Adelaide slowly opened her eyes as she felt the touch of the wooden floor from beneath her shoes.

“Oh!”

Unlike when she arrived at Kronatan, this time it was an exclamation of genuine admiration.

Although she said she was expecting it, Adelaide was aware that this dungeon couldn’t be decorated beautifully.

How can a grandfather who has lost 666 Almas live in an F-class dungeon with beautiful decorations? No matter how smart Adelaide is, she’s not stupid enough to think that way.

She made up her mind that she would be satisfied even if there were only one or two things left. No, it would be nice if there were no broken places.

However, contrary to her expectations, the appearance of the dungeon that came into view was very neat.

A cute tablecloth was spread on a large wooden table, and bright scarlet flowers were placed in a vase. The neatly laid carpet was clean with no dust to be found, and cooking utensils with a feeling of use are neatly arranged in what appears to be a kitchen space.

If someone told her that she entered the wrong house, she would believe them.

Adelaide looked around her, smiling brightly at the unexpectedly pleasant environment.

‘Did my grandfather live here?’

Based on the number of doors, it’s a four-bedroom space, including the living room. It was an F-class dungeon, so there were fewer rooms and the size was small. However, for Adelaide who was expecting an empty cave, it was good news. If anything, it was far better than her accommodation in Morpheus.

There seemed to be a lot of useful things. It looks like her grandfather really lived here. He may have concealed the entrance so well because of his debt.

Adelaide thought so and moved towards a door. She was going to look at how the other room was decorated.

“Oh, this is the bathroom.”

There was a large bathtub in the small room at the center.

The body of demons is different from that of humans as it does not require excretion. You can even clean your body with simple magic. However, some demons preferred to wash themselves. That was why it was more refreshing. Perhaps her grandfather was also such a noble class.

Adelaide walked in admiration of her grandfather who lost 666 Almas while enjoying a noble hobby. This time it was his turn to look at the room on the left. Somehow, it looked like a bedroom.

Adelaide even hummed a song to open the door. As she expected, the room on the left was decorated as a bedroom space.

But what she didn’t quite expect was the fact that there was another demon in the bedroom. She made eye contact with a large man.